ATLANTA — A growing number of amusement parks have taken rides offline as police and state regulators investigate a fatal fall on the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia.
Sea World Orlando in Florida and La Ronde in Montreal, Canada said Thursday they had temporarily closed specific coasters, bringing the total number of rides halted to 12.
Goliath roller coaster investigation widens
Authorities are examining how Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old Atlanta school employee, was ejected from his seat on Goliath on Monday and fell to his death. Witnesses reported seeing him thrown from the train, and some riders who boarded Goliath earlier that day raised concerns about its restraints, according to accounts provided to reporters.
Ten of the shuttered coasters share the same manufacturer and a similar restraint design as the Goliath roller coaster at the Georgia park.
Erica Billups said her son and daughter rode Goliath about an hour before the incident and encountered an issue with a restraint on one seat. Her son initially sat there, tried to secure the harness, then moved after it repeatedly unlocked.
The train departed with that seat empty and the restraint raised, she said in a post on X that she confirmed by text message on Thursday.
Billups said staff did not tell her children there was a problem.
Summer Bates, who visited the park with her husband and three children and witnessed the fall, previously told reporters that her two older children kept pushing their restraints tighter while on the ride. She later understood why after riding herself, saying the restraints did not feel secure.
Six Flags did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding any restraint issues.
La Ronde said its Goliath coaster is offline “while we conduct a thorough safety review in collaboration with the ride’s manufacturer.” Neither La Ronde nor Sea World Orlando specified why those particular rides were closed.
Both coasters were built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, which also designed Goliath in Georgia and eight of the additional coasters taken out of service. The company declined Thursday to answer questions about the shutdowns and said it would not comment further until it had a better understanding of what occurred on Monday.
Photos and videos posted online of 10 of the idled coasters show clamshell-style restraints that lower over riders’ laps and upper legs, locking into place on a vertical bar between the knees. It is unclear from those images whether the coasters also use seat belts or other secondary restraints.
Goliath in Georgia does not have backup restraints.
Safety questions after fatal fall
Restraint selection depends on a ride’s speed, forces and track transitions, said Brian D. Avery, a University of Florida professor and amusement ride safety expert. He supports adding a secondary restraint, though he noted an industry debate over whether such measures would increase wait times.
Witnesses described the sequence of events on Monday. Goliath, a signature attraction that opened in 2006, rises to 200 feet and reaches 70 miles per hour.
It does not invert riders. Nick Mendenhall, who had just ridden with his son, said it looked as if Kariem was hovering as the train moved beneath him.
Mendenhall said Kariem fell headfirst back into the train, then was ejected on the final turn, striking other patrons before landing below.
The Goliath roller coaster is not expected to resume operation while the investigation continues. The park, home to about a dozen coasters, is in Austell, roughly 15 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.
Some riders who boarded Goliath earlier that day raised concerns about its restraints, according to accounts provided to reporters, echoing broader worries about how schools and families manage children’s safety during public outings explored in the documentary “Generation COVID”.